My cancer diagnosis was a double-shock. Not only because I had never gave a second thought to the prospect (even though 1 in 8 women will get it), but because by the time I was diagnosed it had already spread far, and it was the worst type to get. My family and friends were very kind and sympathetic during the process, but like me, their understanding was limited. One of the things many people didn’t get was why I didn’t have surgery, because so many of them knew women who had cancer and they had surgery and then they were fine.
Breast Cancer Stages Basics
Here is a basic breakdown of the different stages (more detailed info here):
Stage 1: localized to the breast, and very small in size.
Stage 2: cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit or is larger in size
Stage 3: tumor is either larger or in several lymph nodes either in armpit or near collarbone.
Stage 4: cancer has spread more distantly than the nearby lymph nodes.
Treatment for stages 1-3 is different than for stage 4, which is why people are confused when I say that surgery isn’t an option for me. For stages 1-3 patients often start off with surgery, and then if scans still reveal the presence of cancer, or if the tumors are inoperable, they will probably proceed to chemotherapy and radiation. Additionally, in stages 1-3, chemotherapy is set for a number of weeks, depending on the type of treatment.
Most of the time treatment for stage 4 is chemotherapy indefinitely. There are some women who are stage 4 and who aren’t going through chemo because scans continue to show no sign of cancer (this is called NED or No Evidence of Disease and doesn’t mean it’s gone, it just means it’s undetectable), but this is rare.
Why isn’t surgery an option for me? The reason women undergo mastectomies is to prevent the cancer from coming back and spreading. CANCER IN THE BREAST DOESN’T KILL. METASTATIC CANCER DOES. Metastatic Cancer is the cancer that has spread far from the breast. So for me, having surgery won’t reduce my risk. It doesn’t make sense to have surgery at this point.
What about natural remedies and alternative treatments for cancer?
Some people don’t want to put their bodies through the strain of traditional treatments, so they either go online and try natural remedies or go to an alternative treatment facility. I decided not to try that because unfortunately, the data just isn’t there. Just because you read that someone got cured from cancer from juicing carrots doesn’t mean that it will work for your type of cancer.
The big drug companies create studies and trials for new drugs and in order for them to be approved they have to meet specific criteria. Obviously, they have a lot of money and can afford it. The benefit is that we know how it works, on what type of cancer, the likelihood of success, and the side effects. The other reason why I didn’t go “the natural route” is the type of cancer that I have.
Two different subtypes of cancer
Most breast cancer responds to hormone treatment. This is good because it increases the amount of treatments available. The thing about cancer is that it’s smart and it will mutate to avoid getting wiped out. This is why I was doing great on the clinical trial, and then I had to drop out because my cancer stopped responding and started growing again.
My subtype is triple negative, which does not respond to hormone treatment and is very aggressive. It is the rarest type. Only 10-20% of women have this type of breast cancer. This is why I didn’t want to go the holistic route. My cancer is aggressive and had already spread. So by the time the natural treatments started doing their thing, I would already be dead. Unless God healed me miraculously. Which I don’t discredit and I constantly pray for, but I did not feel peace about forgoing traditional treatment.
Survival rates
This information is from cancer.net:
The 5-year survival rate tells you what percent of people live at least 5 years after the cancer is found. Percent means how many out of 100. The average 5-year survival rate for people with breast cancer is 90%. The average 10-year survival rate is 83%.
If the cancer is located only in the breast, the 5-year survival rate of people with breast cancer is 99%. Sixty-two percent (62%) of cases are diagnosed at this stage. If the cancer has spread to the regional lymph nodes, the 5-year survival rate is 85%. If the cancer has spread to a distant part of the body, the 5-year survival rate is 27%.
I’m very thankful for everyone who has been praying for me and generously serving my family. As you can see, not all breast cancer is equal, and I unfortunately got some of the worst kind I can get. However, I’m still believing in the power of God to heal me completely. Check out this post on how I imagined that could happen.